Blog

Summer Merge, or SumMerge as we’ve been calling it, started out as a way to keep students connected to one another over the summer. A handful of students stay in town every summer, and we wanted to give them a chance to get together a couple of times a month to have a worship service together. When Lauren Knicl and I started thinking of topics to do a series on, Roxy (our Mentor/Pastor/Boss at Merge) told us that whatever we…

Dear Readers, This past week, people from Merge and I attended the IGRC Annual Conference in Peoria, Illinois. If you aren’t sure what IGRC means, the Illinois Great Rivers Conference covers over 800 churches south of I-80, including Merge. On June 6th through the 8th, I witnessed voting sessions that decided who would represent us at the 2020 General Conference. While many other topics were voted over, this was the most important because these people could make a difference at…

It’s hard to believe that the Fall semester is over and we’re only 6 days away from Christmas! My name is Erik Slingerland, and I’m in my second year serving as the intern at Merge. This semester seemed to fly by for all of us on staff, so we thought it would be a good time to reflect on what happened this semester. We kicked off the semester with our annual cook-out, where over 200 students ate food and played…

Now that we are back from Dade City, here is a list of the serious and not-so-serious lessons we learned on our journey My music taste in junior high sucked There is no limit to the amount of puns and dad jokes that we can make (looking at you, Mark!) John can sing every word of Bodak Yellow and it is the best way to start your morning Cooking for 30 is made more exciting when you have only two…

Music is a constant in our lives, whether we ask for it or not. It is playing in every convenience store, in the background of every movie, and on many awkward elevator rides. People walk around the quad with headphones in to relax and recharge, or maybe to simply avoid the people handing out flyers. Music plays an undeniable role in our daily lives, and yet, often causes so much controversy. People spend hours arguing over what constitutes “good” music.…

When I was interviewing for a leadership team position, Luke and Roxy asked me why I am passionate about Merge. And sure, there are the people, the music, the prayer room, the free food, and the comfy couches, all of that is pretty great! But those aren’t what keep me coming back here, week after week. The Wednesday before this interview, I had left class on the verge of tears because I was full of self-doubt. I was in my…

I have always been an avid perfectionist and a strategic procrastinator. So often I would work on projects and my mom would remind me of the K.I.S.S method–Keep It Simple, Stupid–as I tried to do the absolute most. Bless my parents for putting up with me, really. As I’ve gotten older, these things have not gone away. I still want to be perfect in everything I do, and I’m the best at leaving things to the last minute. This…